I DID NOT TAKE ANY ONLINE COURSES; BUT I FOUND IT TO BE A GOOD EXPERIENCE OVERALL, FOR OVERSEAS MILITARY SCHOOLING. IT WAS NICE TO GET CREDIT/DEGREE FROM SOMETHING I WAS HAVING TO LEARN ANYWAY. IT DID NOT PREPARE ME FOR A CAREER, PER SE; I RETURNED TO THE STATES, TO THE MIDWEST, WHERE THERE IS LITTLE DEMAND FOR MY DEGREE.

With the University of Maryland online I discovered that college is for me. Before I enrolled in their online courses I was having a lot of trouble passing my classes even though I was sure that I could do better. It turned out that doing the work and taking the class via the internet was the best thing for me to do.

The coursework was much harder online than it was when it was given in traditional classrooms. However that wasn't a challenge for me, I actually enjoyed the work I got through my online classes because it was at my level, and not at the rest of my classmates' level. With Maryland college we used forums, email, and a lot of video and audio files. We also got to use Adobe Reader a lot to open up our PDF files which contained our printed materials such as assignments, vocabulary, and even our books were in that type of file.

As for the classmate and professor interactions, I think that online it was way better than not online. My professors and I did a lot of one-on-one talking and discussing of goals, class activities, and the future. My overall experience at the University of Maryland college online was awesome. I wouldn't have finished my education were it not for this online program. I highly recommend that busy individuals or those who are having trouble with traditional classes try the online courses offered here.

I originally attended the University of Maryland Asian Division while stationed aboard Okinawa and attended classes on site. It was towards the end of my bachelor degree program that I first tried online courses via Web Tycho.

I found them to be more challenging in that one was required to read and write much more than a typical face to face course. The same can be said for my current master of science in computer systems management degree track. I am specializing in information assurance and have found all of the classes to be relevant, topical, and well worth the investment. The only sticking point that I have had with the university is support when I needed to clarify what I identified as mistakes in my tuition charges.

Even so, I still find this university to be an outstanding value and their degree well worth the time and effort one puts into it. The cost of a UMUC education is quite reasonable. I've noticed the University has taken great strides to leverage its alumni pool and have alumni serve as career mentors for recent graduates.

I graduated from University of Maryland, University College in August 2005 after completing the part-time MBA graduate program. Overall, the greatest value of the UMUC graduate degree is the program's affiliation with the University of Maryland college system.

Unlike other for profit higher education institutions, the state of Maryland has a tradition of providing a high quality education and graduates of the UMUC program stand to benefit from that reputation. With that said the UMUC MBA program is geared towards working professionals who are already established in their careers and searching for opportunities to advance within their respective companies or a designed field in which they already have considerable experience.

One of the weakest aspects of the institution in general, is that there is little support in terms of career development or recruitment opportunities for individuals seeking to transition into a different career path after obtaining their MBA. To give you an example, while earning my MBA at UMUC, I was laid off from my job as a sales manager. I found that the university provided few career resources. The resources available were geared towards undergraduate, not graduate students. Also, with few exceptions, you also felt that you were simply a small number in a fairly successful program.

I heard that with some other institutions, the graduate advisors take a more active approach and help the students reach their career goals through the graduate program. To its credit, I think the institution is able to attract top faculty due to its association with the University of Maryland’s higher education system. The MBA program at UMUC is structured into cohorts. Students progress through the program at the same pace, providing support for one another during the more strenuous parts of the program. I highly recommend the combination online and face-to-face MBA program format, particularly for the requisite study group sessions. Having a physical "face-to-face" point of reference helps for the study group cohesion, group interaction and group involvement - a huge benefit in subsequent courses.

Overall, the UMUC MBA program is a great value compared to other MBA programs. The price per credit hour is the same regardless of residency status. Since I'm also pursuing another graduate degree at UMUC currently, I've noticed the University has taken great strides to leverage its alumni pool and have alumni serve as career mentors for recent graduates.

The coursework was very rigorous but there was ample time given to complete tests, projects, and assignments. The tools I used were mainly online and website based, but you didn't have to complete everything on the computer, as you could send the professor documents or work via "snail mail." I didn't have much interactions with other students, but with the professor the interactions were great. The online services made it easy to contact the professor whenever I faced a challenge or question that I needed help with. Overall the experience was great and I would recommend it to anyone.